We specialise in needlecrafts, patchwork, quilting, cross stitch, tapestry, felting and so much more. As we attend different events, launch new products, learn new techniques and who knows what else might takes our fancy, we will share our adventures with you.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

More gridlines in 4 different sizes. The Gridline blocks so far I have enjoyed. It has been 1 of the designs I have seen improvements and because of this I am enjoying doing these blocks. FMQ straight lines without the walking foot and just adjusting the stitch length to 0 is working for me. So here is my block done. My lines are a little wobbly. The smallest one was too small for my liking but I can see me doing an abstract version of them in a slightly larger size.

I have been wanting to do a larger project with my new FMQ skills as I know practise is the key so here is what I was quilting on Friday to practise my skills. A little wobbly in spots but I can see the improvement in doing a large project.

I am at the quilting stage of my triangle quilt. How to quilt it ran through my head for days. I loved the spiral quilting Felicity did. Doing a spiral is out of the question for me, it is still just out of reason of my free motion quilting skills. So I was thinking of a triangle quilt design after drawing a few samples I came up with a triangle spiral design. This was a marathon quilting exercise as I have never quilted a quilt this heavily. It took me all day to complete it. Firstly drawing up the main spiral and then quilting it and then more drawing and more quilting. I didn't fill enough bobbins, thinking 3 would be enough. Try 6 by the time I finished.

There is a deadline for this quilt to be finished by and that is the 25th April so I must finish it. So I got stuck into the binding, but I was getting tired. I know this because I made a label and forgot to pin it on before starting the binding and on mitring the last join in the binding I twisted it and sewed it without realising what I had done. So once again I was unpicking the last seam and redoing it the right way. Here is my finished quilt. I hope you all like it as I do.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Another day at the sewing machine , I may get caught up on all the BOM I am involved in and work on some new projects. Aurifil was first on my list, searching through my scrap box for the BOM I found some Blueberry Crumbcake fabrics to complete my April's block. April's block is the Bear's Paw block (bottom right)

Then I had to work on a birthday present a cat quilt, nothing fancy but when you need a good present but short on time a panel with a couple borders makes a nice thoughtful present rather than going to the shops and buying something that most likely won't last. That is little Saffy testing out the quilt.

Layer Cake Sampler Quilt have a couple more blocks completed I think there is only 2 more block to go before we start the assembly of the top. Block 17 & 18.

Finally I have my Triangle Quilt top completed, a few problems on the way but by the time I got to the last 4 rows I had it all under control I just had to stop trying to piece more than 1 row at a time as I was messing up my colour placements and ending up with 2 rows that the lead triangle was pointing the same way. So I focused on 1 row at a time and no more problems. It did give me a chance to do more lozenge blocks for our Leaders & Enders Challenge.

Now I just have to quilt it I am looking at a triangle quilting design but I need to do some drawing first to see if it will work.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

On Easter Saturday we traded at the Angaston Craft Fair. A early start was needed as we always pop in to the Barossa Farmers Markets first as it is on the way. We got there right at opening time and it was already packed. It is worth a visit if you are around Angaston on a Saturday morning, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and breakfast cooking is just a delight to the senses. Back to the car with our purchases and 5 minutes later we were at the Angaston Town Hall setting up for the 10am opening. I have been trading at this event for the last 8 years so I couldn't believe it when I realised I didn't bring enough tables but we manage with the loan of a spare table from a friend also trading there. It is a lovely event with a variety of crafts stalls and good food on offer from the Lions club who run the event. We caught up with friends and previous customers,some we had not seen for a couple of years so that is always nice. My kids panels and strip quilt kits got the most attention.

Some pictures of my stall I am thinking next year I do need to bring my hanging frame that bolts to the back of the tables and hang a quilt. It is amazing the different perspective you get when you see some pictures. The stall is lacking some height I think.

Friday, April 18, 2014

I have fallen behind in our Free Motion Quilt Along. I left it to last in my list of sew alongs to complete. I have been struggling with some of the quilting designs and not happy with some of the results. I know my problems were common problems and practise was required to overcome them but that wasn't making me feel any better. I think I have solved 1 problem, I finally found a marking pencil I can see on my fabric. It is a yellow quilting marking pencil. First the last block from March to complete. Again circles appear, luckily only 4 this time. My circles are still not true circles yet but I like the results from the lines. I did complete the block without breaking the thread and my stitches were more even.

Front of the block.

Back of the block.

Now for piecing April's block. Something easy to sew. All done.

Now to mark the stippling pattern, I only marked the 2 largest stippling patterns as Leah suggested. Stippling is something I have tried before. This was my only experience in free motion quilting before this quilt along. So I was fairly confident I could do this one.

Here it is. I stitched the 3 larger ones with no troubles I did have a little trouble with the smallest stippling I did snap my thread right at the end and was having trouble seeing where I was going.

I don't think I would use the largest stipple design in a project but I found the second and third stipple sizes more suitable to use in future projects.

I am happy to say I got to spend some time in front of the sewing machine doing some catch up work. I caught up on the Free Motion Quilt Along as I had fallen behind. With that project caught up I then set to work on the Triangle Quilt Along as I still had rows to sew and then the rows to sew together as I am only a quarter of the way through the quilt top. So there was plenty to do, while piecing the triangles together I was able to sew some more lozenge blocks for our 2014 Leader & Ender Challenge on Quiltville. Still more work to go on both of the projects but I am happy with the progress.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

This week we are joining our rows together. As I have been time poor I only had 4 rows ready to join. So I followed the instructions and before I knew it I have the four rows joined together. There was a couple of intersections that didn't quite match perfectly but then again this is my first time sewing a triangle quilt. So I will try to take a little more care on the next set of rows I join.

I saved this post and didn't publish it right away as I thought I may find some time on Tuesday/Wednesday afternoon/evening to sew a few more rows and add them to my first set, as I saw a number of completed tops I was feeling a bit too far behind to post it as is. It is now Wednesday night and as you can see I didn't get any more rows joined but I did manage to get a couple rows completed but I ran out of bobbin thread and I thought it was time to rest. So I will need the catch up week to catch up. Fingers crossed I make it.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

As I was away trading at the Laura Folk Fair I had four blocks to complete to catch up in the Layer Cake Sampler Quilt Along. As the HST blocks are all made I only had to arrange the blocks and sew them together. Still they took me awhile to complete as I got distracted part way through the second block but they are done. Another job crossed off the list but I am thinking I might have to make a quilt with just HST in it. to celebrate them. They do such a good job in a supporting role in many blocks. So why not make them the star. Stay tuned for that quilt.

Block 13

Block 14

Block 15

Block 16

I can't wait to put all these blocks together, we are getting close to completing all of our blocks and soon we will be assembling the quilt.

April's block is San Juan, Puerto Rico. From the pictures Pat shared in her block post it looks like a lovely place to visit. Once again the HST have appeared. This time in the pinwheel blocks. It is a good thing I like them. Here is the next BOM completed. I wonder where we are going in May. I hope it is a sunny place as the weather cools down here in Southern Australia.

Monday, April 14, 2014

We are already 14 days in to April and I haven't started any of my April blocks. It seems I have been too busy, so on Sunday I decided that is it I had to do some if not all. I know it is a little ambitious on my part but I had to try. I started with the Fat Quarter Shop Wishes quilt first. It was nearly completed when I had a thought, half square triangles are playing a big part in my quilting world at the moment with this block and the Layer Cake Sampler Quilt (which is all HST) plus I was playing around with a new design featuring batik fabrics and they make appearance there to. When you take notice of them they do appear often. One of the most used blocks out there I am thinking. Here is my block for April.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Something happened at Laura Folk Fair that has never happened before that I am aware of. As you can see I had some of my quilts hanging in the stall, some were advertising kits I have for sale and a large hexagon quilt (Grandma flower garden) to demostrate what can be achieved with batik fabrics and possible upcoming pattern. Now we had a couple stop just outside the stall and the gentleman started snapping photos using his camera. I called out Excuse me! How about asking permission before taken photos? They didn't respond at first so I repeated myself louder and the gentleman just walk off and I said to the lady You should of asked first before taking photos of someone hand work. She just muttered something under her breath and walked off. I would of let them take some photos if they had asked first I just found them very rude to take the liberty they did. LSH (my long suffering husband) who saw this has suggested I make a sign up for future events. Not sure what to write or what I need to put in the sign. Has this happen to anyone else and what have you done about it. Would a simply sign stating "Please ask for permission first before taking any photos" be of any use or do I need to be firmer and state " Please don't take any photos if you like what you see buy a pattern or kit" I would love some feedback on this topic as I have a number of events coming up and I don't want a repeat of this incident. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I would love to hear from you.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

On the 5th and 6th of April we were up at Laura trading at the 2014 Laura Folk Fair. It is one of our favourite events, only a couple hours drive from home. It gives us a chance to catch up with some of our regular customers, meet new people and share time with other crafters as we come together for this annual event. For our internet customers it gives them the chance to meet us in person and see what is new (sometimes it is nice to touch the fabrics before you buy them) and I can collect some feedback on possible new projects, what they are looking for and catch up on some social chit chat. It is a lot of work but really enjoyable. You can see our stall all set up ready for trading above. The weather was beautiful and sunny but not too hot as there was a slight breeze.

A close up on the Aurifil threads and fabric bundles available.

Our Kids Strip Quilts were featured for this event and the Tractor Time Quilt was the most popular out of the four we had for sale.

My hexagon flowers quilt and my log cabin quilts were eye candy for the batik fabric fans there. It is always good to show everyone what can be achieved with batik fabrics. The hexagon flower quilt will be available in a pattern format soon.

The street on Sunday morning as we prepare for trading. When the event gets going you can't see any of the stalls for all the people in the street. With all the craft stalls, food, amusement rides and the variety of music entertainment. It is a huge event.

Now we have two weeks to prepare for the Angaston Easter Craft Fair on Easter Saturday in Angaston.

Monday, April 7, 2014

This week we get to piecing our triangles into rows. After a busy weekend at the Laura Folk Fair. I finally got to my sewing machine Monday afternoon for a couple of hours. Following Paula's instructions I was pairing my triangles in no time. I don't know why I hadn't made a triangle quilt sooner. It is easier than I thought is was going to be, as long as you are paying attention to what you are doing with the up triangles and the down triangles. My first four triangles joined together.

The angles of the pieces when you join them together is interesting. I had to unpick a couple of times as I sewed them into wedges instead of rows. When I sew this seam and press it, it will form a row as below.

My first four rows sewn ready for our next step of joining the rows together. If I get some free time this week I will try to sew some more rows up ready, as there is 8 more rows to go.

Friday, April 4, 2014

I have been working on my hexagon quilt this week. If you read my 2014 To do List post back in January this is number 3 on my list to finish. It shouldn't be too hard to finish only quilting and binding left to do. Due to the size of this quilt I decided to have Lizzy from Jacaranda Quilts to quilt it. I think now that was the reason it got put in the UFO pile to start with. The size was a little too much for me to deal with. So in February it went to the quilter and it has now returned for me to complete it with a label and binding.

Only just enough room in my sewing room for this quilt to be laid out.

A close up at quilting for you all to see.

This is my label. It is the first time I have used this triangle label (Pat Sloan posted a blog on this so I thought I would try it). It is worth trying it, I am very happy with it. It is sewn on two sides with the binding and you only have to hand stitch that one edge so it is very secure. Now the only problem is what to name this quilt. Any suggestions would be helpful. Now for the finished quilt.

This completes another UFO off my list. My Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt is coming along, only have 11 blocks to go and I have picked out my sashing and cornerstone fabrics for the next stage. So I can see a quilt top forming soon.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The weather is starting to cool down here. Autumn has finally arrived I think and look what has arrived.

Last week in the mail I received these beautiful skeins of wool. Each skein is different as they are blended from the ends of the runs, so the colour possibilities are endless. They are wool blended with alpaca and llama, so the finished product has a soft finish. I wish you could feel how soft they feel. I knew I had to stitch something from this shipment for myself and as the Laura
Folk Fair is on this weekend it had to be quick. So what do I knit? A scarf! I know it isn't very exciting but it is quick and people can see how the colours blend. So I chose my favourite colourway, that is the hardest part of the whole process as I love them all. Also I have been wanting to try bamboo knitting needles for a long time but it has been a while since I have knitted anything so I finally got to test them too. The scarf is coming along and the needles are a breeze to use and the wool is easy to handle and knits up beautifully.

If I get enough interest in this product I will ordered a larger batch and upload them on to our shop so let me know what you think and if you are going to the Laura Folk Fair in Laura, South Australia stop in at stall #86 for a close up and check out my sample. I hope I can finish in time, if not you may find me working on it at the fair.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Wow. This quilt is coming along quickly. I can't believe we are at blocks 11 & 12 already. This is the Layer Cake Sampler Quilt I am working on and I can say I am up to date with this one. All 12 blocks are completed and I am enjoying playing around with the directional prints in the layer cake. They are adding more interest to the blocks. With the way we are piecing and cutting these blocks I get 4 half square triangles with the directional print going one way and the other four blocks the directional print runs the other way. You can see this at work in the following block.

Block 7

Block 8

Block 9

The first 6 blocks I completed I followed Amanda's first choice she had recommended and I thought I would follow that option for the whole quilt. When I got to blocks 7, 8 & 9 one of the other options she offered in each block took my fancy and I couldn't resist changing my path.

Block 10

Block 11

Block 12.

Block 9 is my favourite block out of these 6 blocks. I may have to make a whole quilt using block 9.